Medieval: From the Ashes
From the Ashes, informally known as "AU!Joff" or "crazy!Joff," is an alternate universe Medieval story. From the Ashes focuses on what would have happened if Everett Jade had died during Medieval, and if Joffery was forced to take his place. Joffery doesn't take the pressure well, and becomes very cold and vengeful. The thread for From the Ashes can be found here. Summary One fateful night, Lord Everett falls victim to the assassin Davorin Silverkin, forcing his eldest son Joffery to take his place as Lord of House Jade. Joffery, overcome by stress, becomes very cold, vowing to exact vengeance on his father's killers. Lord Joffery soon becomes convinced that it was the work of House Stallion, and decides to visit Stallion Manor in order to confront Grand Duke Alain about it. Alain deflects the accusation, leaving it unclear whether or not he really was behind Everett's death. This only frustrates Joffery, convincing him that he needs to fight back—by killing one of Stallion's own. This leads him to asking Leif Jade about using the Killing Curse on Ambrose Stallion, insisting that the Stallion's inventions are a threat to their House and that he must be stopped. Leif refuses, threatening to warn the Stallions about Lord Joffery's plans. Joffery retaliates by striking Leif with a stunning charm, taking the Archmage's wand and locking in his room to prevent escape. Joffery then asks Jeniver to keep an eye on Leif to ensure that he doesn't try to escape. Lord Charles, overhearing this, cautions Joffery against sowing contention within his House, leading to a heated argument between the two. Jeniver agrees to help Joffery, if it will get him and her father to stop fighting. Realizing that he won't be getting Leif's help, Lord Joffery, accompanied by two guards, goes to the assassin's booth in disguise to hire a hit on Ambrose Stallion. Davorin accepts the job, seeing straight through Joffery's disguise and pondering the rising tension between the Houses—and what it means for his business. That night, while Ambrose is in his room working on his inventions, Davorin breaks in. The assassin easy gets hold of the old man, apologizing and insisting that his work is only business before slitting his throat. Xavier Lynn, having received a warning from Leif about Joffery's plans, rushes to Stallion Manor to warn Ambrose—but unfortunately, he arrives too late. While he is grieving the loss of his friend, Alain enters, stunned by the scene before him. He snaps at Xavier, demanding answers. Xavier tells him that it was House Jade's work, and insists that he had nothing to do with it and wants no part of it. Alain accepts this answer, warning Xavier to run away before things get ugly. Xavier takes the advice, running away without looking back. The next morning, Alain visits Marson Manor to have another talk with Lord Joffery, this time a far less sympathetic one. The Grand Duke intimidates Joffery, breaking through the young lord's tough demeanor for a moment to confirm that he does, in fact, have no idea what he is doing. Alain warns him that he, on the other hand, knows exactly what he is doing, and leaves preparing for war. Alain meets with a secret operative of his, arranging for House Jade's strongest members to be crippled—a letter would be sent to Leif, falsely addressed by Lord Charles, luring the archmage away from Marson Manor. Along with the letter, a bag of Bernian money would be sent to Charles, implicating him for working with House Stallion. Finally, a poisoned cake would be sent to Jeniver, so she could not use her seer powers to see what was happening. The operative agrees to it, and the two part ways. Leif, though still sore from Joffery's paralysis charm, manages to escape his locked room. Following the letter from "Charles," he hurries out to the designated meeting place, where he meets with a cloaked man he presumes to be Charles. But instead, the man turns out to be Alain, who uses Ambrose's final invention—the Weapon—to kill Leif. (To be continued)Category:Medieval AUs